In February, an Ohio mother left her three young children, two of which have special needs, alone for two days while she visited a friend in Miami. All three children are below the age of 11. Her friend had gone liposuction surgery and she flew over.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Dominique Knowles, 32, believed her children could fend for themselves. "I do believe my kids [are] able to get up by themselves, and properly dress themselves, and get themselves to school," she told WBDJ.
She attended the Rocky River Municipal Court on October 23, where she was faced with 360 days of house arrest, 5 years probation, a parenting class, and mental health counseling.
"It is by the grace of God that nothing went wrong," a prosecutor told the judge handling the trial.
The children were discovered to be home alone when one of them told the teacher that their mum had gone and they didn't know where she went. That's when the teacher called the police.
Three Kids Left Alone For Two Days
Although Knowles believes her children are more than capable, she still expressed that she wished she did something different. What makes this case more absurd is that her mother lived in Cleveland and would have been capable of looking after the kids.
Westlake police told the outlet that Knowles checked on her kids remotely through the cameras installed in the house. She also Facetimed them from time to time. Additionally, she would order Uber Eats to their house to feed the children, not expecting them to prepare their own meals.
The judge sentencing her to house arrest was to force her to spend more time with her children.
"My kids [mean] everything to me," she told the outlet, "and I do everything for them by myself." It's unclear why she didn't get a trusted adult, or their grandmother, to watch over the children during her absence.
The outlet reports that when the police arrived, the apartment was filthy. One of the girls slipped and fell on spilled liquid while they were there. Much more damage to the children could have been done during this time.
